


Knot All Men

by exarite



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alpha Tom Riddle, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Didn't Know They Were Dating, Everyone Is Alive, Fuckbuddies, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mixed Media, Omega Harry Potter, Social Media
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 03:01:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19098421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exarite/pseuds/exarite
Summary: Harry@harrypotterFuck Alphas. They're trash.*Tom: Not all Alphas are trash. Maybe you're dating the wrong ones.Harry: tell me where i said "all alphas" u fucking prick





	Knot All Men

**Author's Note:**

  * For [oneoftheoddones](https://archiveofourown.org/users/oneoftheoddones/gifts).



> i have no excuse. this fic is full of tropes 😂 i just want something...uncomplicated....
> 
> dedicated to rabbit, my wifey, who i credit the title too

**Tuesday**

"He's a prick," Harry said vehemently, concluding his half-hour rant, "and I hope he chokes on one."

"Yours?"

"No!" Harry scowled. He flopped back onto his bed and glared up at his ceiling, still burning with frustration and righteous anger. "I hate him! I hate Tom! He's such a bloody Alpha."

"Yes," Ginny sighed, coming out staticky through the phone. "You've said. Numerous times."

Harry deflated, his bad mood squeezing out of him, and he sighed. He scratched his head. "Anyway, that's all that's really up with me. You?"

"I was calling to ask if you and Riddle were coming to lunch this Sunday."

"Oh," Harry said. He sat up. "Yeah, of course we are. I’ll be done with my heat by then if I’m not late. He said to tell Molly thank you for the sweater, by the way."

"Great," Ginny said dryly. "See you and your boyfriend then."

"He's not—"

Ginny hung up, and Harry was left faltering.

"…not my boyfriend."

*

**2018**

The day Harry Potter first met Tom Riddle, he knew instantly that he hated him.

It was just the way Tom held himself, that arrogant cocksure posture, that smug smirk. There was nothing that got Harry's hackles up faster than a knothead Alpha who thought too highly of themselves.

He scowled.

"You must be Harry," Tom greeted, holding out his hand, and Harry's lips thinned. The worst thing was, Tom was bloody attractive, and Harry bet that the other boy knew it.

"Yes," he said, "and you're Tom."

He didn't bother pretending. His mother had already talked plenty about how Tom was so helpful, how he had so much potential, how she was sure that he'd go so _far_ in the research field. Harry had heard enough.

Harry's mum looked back and forth between the two of them, and at her expectant look, Harry sighed. Despite his misgivings, Harry reached out to take Tom's hand for a quick handshake.

Tom grasped his hand and then raised it up, bending over to skim his nose over it. Harry stiffened, his face going bright red. He yanked his hand away and protectively held it close to his chest.

"What the fuck!" Harry squawked. Where were they? In the bloody Victorian era? Who actually still did that? It was the polite way to get a scent of someone, sure, but the modern thing to do was to just not.

Tom smirked at him, unfazed.

"Harry," Lily scolded and Harry winced.

 _He **smelled** me!_ Harry wanted to protest, but at his mum's raised eyebrows he huffed.

"Sorry," he muttered half-heartedly.

"It's quite alright," Tom replied, voice smooth. "I should have known that some Omegas are sensitive."

Harry's jaw dropped.

"I take it back," he said, turning to his mother in disbelief. "I'm not sorry at all."

It was, understandably, a bad first impression. One that unfortunately stuck.

 

 

Harry Potter  
@harrypotter   
Fuck Alpha men. They're trash.  3:09 PM - 12 May 2018  145  230 

 

 

Tom  
  
Not all Alphas are trash. Maybe you're dating the wrong ones.  
  
tell me where I said "all Alphas" u fucking prick  
and for the record?? im counting u in my generalization

*****

**Wednesday**

The clock ticked over to 10 and Professor Slughorn dismissed them.

Harry dawdled, taking care for once as he packed up his things. He set his notebook back into his bag slowly, his pens separate, even as the rest of his class stood and streamed down into the open door. The sounds of their chatting filtered out, muting as they left the room.

Harry followed them out and paused at the sight of Tom waiting outside his classroom. Harry watched as Slughorn said a few words to Tom before he too left with a jolly wave and a chuckle. Harry rolled his eyes.

Tom turned to look at him then, his eyebrow raised. His expression was cool.

"Let's go?"

"Yeah," Harry grumbled, hiking his bag up to his shoulder. He walked over to Tom, his shoulders tight up against his ears, and made very sure not to bare his neck as his eyes flicked up to meet Tom's.

"What's wrong?" Tom asked, raising an eyebrow. He reached out and Harry didn't have time to protest before his hand was cupping the back of Harry's neck. Tom squeezed, gentle pressure, the scent of him strong.

Harry immediately shuddered. His thighs pressed together, his shoulders dropping from his tight hold, and his eyes fluttered to half-mast as his whole body relaxed. A purr almost escaped through his chest before he tamped it in. It was just instinct. Omegan pressure points combined with a familiar Alpha scent, and Harry was gone, his mind silent.

He looked up at Tom, dazed.

"That time of the year," Tom said, raising his eyebrow, his hand still warm and solid over the back of Harry's neck. It wasn’t a question.

Harry caught himself. He shifted away, scowling, and Tom's hand dropped back to his side. Harry missed it. Harry hated it.

"Shut up," he muttered. "That's rude." For him to point out how close Harry was to heat, and the casual way Tom had touched his nape as if he had the right to.

He turned away, and Tom stepped into place beside him.

"I can smell it," Tom said as they made their way through the hall, tone conversational. "And my rut has a few days before it hits."

"Shut up," Harry repeated, looking up to glare. "I _know_." Their cycles had long synced.

"Pre-heat always makes you so irritable."

Harry stopped. He turned to face Tom again, his eyebrows pinched, and his teeth bared in a snarl. Tom didn't even do him the courtesy of meeting the challenge; he only raised an unimpressed eyebrow at Harry's small canines.

Harry deflated. "I have another class," he said, looking away, and Tom hummed.

"I'll walk you there."

Harry resisted the urge to snap that he didn't need anyone to walk him to class, but held it in. He wasn't dumb. He could definitely see the other Alphas side-eyeing him. If Tom could smell him, then so could they. Better the devil he knew, after all.

When they arrived outside the lecture hall, Tom stopped him before he could enter, his hand on Harry's wrist.

"Tom," Harry complained, but Tom shushed him, pulling him in closer. He cupped Harry's cheeks, and Harry allowed him, his face flushed, as Tom ran his wrists down the side of Harry's neck, brushing over Harry's scent gland.

He stayed quiet, irritated but hot all over as Tom blatantly scented him. Anyone who would sit beside him would instantly smell Tom all over him.

He inhaled, taking it in. The scent of Tom made Harry's head feel light, and he knew it was a bad idea. Pre-heat always made him so dumb.

"Are you done?" Harry asked, and Tom made a low sound in his throat. He was far too used already to Tom taking such liberties on his body, his casual possessiveness, that all his complaints were half-hearted at best. It got worse when Harry was on the verge of heat—even more since they started spending Harry’s heats together last year.

Tom pulled away lingering almost. He hesitated, but only for a moment before he was pulling off his jacket. Harry took it without complaint, shrugging it on if only to appease Tom’s need to claim and mark.

"Behave," Tom ordered.

Harry huffed. "I'm plenty behaved."

Tom snorted. "Sure." He made to move away but Harry caught his sleeve and held on.

“You…You’re free this weekend, right? For…” He trailed off, unable to say it, face flushed. It was the proximity to Tom and his hormones, that was it.

“Of course,” Tom said. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

*

"Harry, mate, you fucking reek," Ron said bluntly. His nose was wrinkled, and he eyed Harry with a pinched look.

"I know," Harry grumbled, shifting self-consciously. Was he that close? He was sure he had at least two days. "I'm—"

"Jesus, you'd think Riddle was here," Ron continued, reaching out to pluck a fry off Hermione's plate and popping it in his mouth. "That's just obscene."

"I—what—no," Harry said, flustered. He discreetly sniffed himself and winced. Okay, yes, he did smell like Tom but granted, he was still wearing Tom’s jacket. "You know how he is. We're just friends."

"Oh, you're friends now?"

Harry looked up as Hermione slipped into the chair between him and Ron. She raised an eyebrow. "I thought you hated him."

"I do," Harry groaned. "Kind of. He's a prick."

"And really," Hermione sniffed. "Friends don't do," she waved a hand at him, " _that_."

"You've platonically scented me before!" Harry complained. "It's just—a protective, Alpha thing to do to friends and family, isn't it? My mum scent marks me too, how's that any different?"

"Yeah, but not like that," Ron said, face twisted.

Like _what_ , Harry wanted to demand. He scowled instead, his shoulders hunched, and said nothing.

“And platonic kind of means you don’t spend heats and ruts together.” Ron’s tone was dubious, and Harry’s sour look deepened.

“That’s the _only_ time we sleep together,” he defended himself, "and we’re not bonded, so that’s that.”

Still, uncertainty started to brew deep in his gut.

*****

**2018**

The second time Harry met Tom, he was, surprisingly, the better option.

"Play along," Harry said in a rush, grabbing onto Tom's sleeve and looking over his shoulder. Just a few paces away, the group of Alphas that had been giving him trouble faltered.

It was temporary though, Harry knew. Resolutely, he grabbed onto Tom’s hand and linked their fingers together. He flashed a bright smile upward, even as inwardly he died just a little.

Tom raised an eyebrow, nose wrinkled, but he didn’t pull away, to Harry’s great relief.

“I’m counting you as part of my generalization,” Tom said, and it took a moment before Harry realized he was quoting their last heated exchange over Twitter.

He scowled defensively. “I’m giving you the chance to make up for it.”

“For what?” Tom snapped. His hold on Harry’s hand tightened, bordering on painful. “For _smelling_ you?”

“You said I was sensitive!”

“Weren’t you?”

Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Tom made a move to pull away and only a strangled sound escaped him. He held onto Tom's hand.

“Shut up,” he grumbled instead, disgruntled. He glanced behind him to check if the Alphas were still following him, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw nothing.

"Have they been bothering you?"

Harry made a low noise of disgust in his throat. "Every time I pass by them, they catcall me. I'm bloody sick of it."

Tom's grip on Harry's hand tightened. "How long?"

"The past few weeks."

"I'll talk to them. I'll take care of it."

"Oh wow," Harry said dryly. "Big strong Alpha, taking care of everything."

"Be a little more grateful, will you?"

"Be a little less _entitled_ , will you?"

They glared at each other. Harry let go of Tom's hand and took a step away. He exhaled, long and noisy, and rubbed a hand over his face as he looked away.

"I appreciate it," he finally said, reluctance dragging at his words. "Thank you."

 

 

Tom  
  
Took care of it for you.  
  
???  
wtf  
did i ask u to?  
  
Just say thank you.  
  
tf  
what did u even do  
did u kill them  
  
Do you want me to?  
  
NO????  
what the fuck tom????  
TOM  
TOM!!!!  
CAN u REPLY??  
  
Relax. I was having dinner.  
  
oh  
what did u eat

*****

**(Still) Wednesday**

"There you are."

Harry looked up, his eyes half-lidded as Tom sat down beside him. The smell of food made him perk up and Tom smirked, waving a bag stamped with the logo of the burger place downtown.

"Oh god, thank you," he said in relief, grabbing it and pulling it close. He had technically just eaten with Ron and Hermione a mere two hours ago, but Tom didn't need to know that.

"Calling me god already?"

Harry looked up from tearing the bag open and gave Tom a flat look. "Don't ruin it."

Tom snorted.

Harry bared his teeth at him, reaching in to pull out the wrapped burger. "And don't fucking watch me eat, you creep."

"And to think I was about to ask if I could hand feed you."

Harry flushed. "Don't get your hopes up, I would have said no." He peeked up from under his eyelashes and took a bite, almost moaning in pleasure. He always got so damn hungry pre-heat.

"Anyway," Harry said mid-chew, even as Tom's nose wrinkled in disgust, "Ron’s going home early this weekend. We can spend my heat at mine."

"I'll make some arrangements then. I'll have a delivery sent by tomorrow."

"Thanks. Charging it on your dad’s card?" It was a half-hearted jab. Harry knew already that Tom hated his dad. Tom had frequently remarked that the money was the only thing his father was good for.

“Of course,” Tom drawled. “If you want anything, let me know. I’ll spare no cost.”

Harry snorted. He licked his fingers clean from the grease and oil of his burger, and Tom’s eyes dropped down.

“That’s disgusting,” Tom said bluntly.

Deliberately, Harry looked him straight in the eye and flipped up his middle finger. Tom grabbed his hand and bit it.

*****

**2018**

"Fuck," Harry cursed. He leaned his head against the pole. He had missed the bus. He shivered and hugged himself, pleading to the higher powers that no one would notice he was right on the verge of heat.

He had gone out to buy some last minute provisions, his cycle had gotten messed up and he hadn't been prepared.

"Harry?"

Harry looked up, eyes bleary, and almost moaned at the smell of Alpha. It burned his nose, spicy and virile, and settled warm in his belly.

"Tom," he greeted, voice croaky. He grimaced, his lips thin, and he eyed the other man warily as Tom came closer.

Tom reached out, and too dazed, Harry allowed him. Tom touched his neck, sliding his hand to Harry's nape, and Harry let out a low whine. Tom's nostrils flared, his eyes narrowing, and Harry knew that he could smell the heat on Harry's skin, how close he was. Harry could see a tinge of red in them.

"You idiot," Tom snapped. "Why would you be out right now?"

"I thought I had more time," Harry said, his voice cracking, and Tom's eyes flickered.

"I'm calling your mum," Tom said, pulling away, and Harry let out an embarrassing, plaintive cry, reaching out to stop him. Tom let out a low hiss, and he didn’t stop Harry as Harry wrapped his arms around Tom, burying his face.

Harry dropped his head on Tom's shoulder, tucking his nose into the juncture of Tom's neck. He inhaled. He had never been in such close proximity to an Alpha when he was on the verge of heat, and never one that smelled as good as Tom.

Bleary, Harry took note of the way Tom shifted and his low, rough voice as he talked into his phone. Harry was ignorant, unaware of any of it, wholly focused, body and soul. All that existed to him right now was Tom's scent. He felt a distant panic, muted; he’d never been so lost to the haze of heat before. Harry had always kept his mind during his season. The urge to fuck and be fucked filled him, yes, but never to this point.

As if Harry was underwater, he heard the sound of Tom hanging up.

“Don’t you wanna fuck me?” His voice was plaintive, and though he couldn’t feel it, Harry was aware enough to know he was going to die in embarrassment once his heat was done.

Tom snorted. “Ask me again when you’re not heat drunk.”

Tom draped his jacket over Harry then, and Harry had immediately burrowed in it. He basked in Tom's scent, strong and concentrated and warm. It comforted him, made the fire in him burn low. No longer a wildfire, but a controlled heat in a fireplace, ready to be let free.

Tom brought him home that day in his car, and Harry couldn't even muster up the energy to be embarrassed by how his heat stunk up the interior. His only saving grace was that he wasn't leaking yet and staining Tom's nice, leather seats.

Tom had left him then, alone in his house to deal with his heat. He had left his jacket with Harry.

Harry had nothing but his toys for that heat, even if he had begged Tom to stay. The clearest memory of that day was the red ring around Tom's eyes and the smell of him that lingered in his jacket. He had pressed his nose to it while he had satisfied himself.

He should have realized by then how bad of an idea it was.

 

 

Harry Potter  
@harrypotter   
coming to terms with the fact that I like alphas and have been doomed to find some of them attractive 3:09 PM - 24 July 2018  145  230 

 

 

Tom  
  
Who’s your tweet about?  
  
not u, that’s who  
  
Sure.  
  
shut up

*****

**Thursday**

“So, you’re spending your heat with Tom again?”

“Yes, dad. I’ll be fine,” Harry sighed, rocking back and forth on his heels. “Just go already, you’re going to miss your flight.”

“Protection?” James Potter teased, waggling his eyebrows, and Harry’s face went bright red.

“Oh my god, just go,” Harry hissed, flustered. He made to push his father out but James dug in his heels, laughing.

“No, really, you’re too young to have children,” James bemoaned and Harry rolled his eyes. He was 19!

“Yeah, well, that didn’t stop you and mum.”

“My own son,” James gasped in mock outrage.

“ _Bye_ , dad.” Harry closed the door, ignoring his father’s laughter from the other side. He locked it, double-bolting to make sure, and then turned to head back into his room. Maybe he shouldn’t have chosen a university so near where his parents lived. Maybe they’d stop dropping by under the pretense of concern, especially when Harry’s heat was coming up.

He could feel the thrum of heat just underneath his skin, mildly threatening, and Harry ducked into his half-made nest. He burrowed underneath the covers and sighed. It didn’t quite smell right, still lacking, and he knew the only thing that would solve the hole inside him was Tom’s scent.

Alone now, he could admit that to himself.

The feelings he had for Tom were confusing, a riotous mess, and he didn’t like dwelling on it when in Tom’s presence. Tom was still very much a fucking prick, but that didn’t stop the swell of helpless feeling in Harry’s chest.

He buried his head in his pillows and sighed. It didn’t help that he knew what Tom was like in bed, in the midst of rut, entirely without restraints. 

It was just sex. He knew that. It was convenient sex, and it was only ever meant to be that and nothing more. Someone should beat that into his dumb brain.

His phone rang and without looking, he reached out and answered it, lifting his head enough to press it to his ear.

“Has the care package arrived?”

Tom was always so straight to the point. He was never one to dawdle.

“Nope.” Harry popped the p. “My dad dropped by, but he just left.” He hesitated, just for a moment, but he felt embarrassingly needy. “Come over?”

There was a shuffling sound on the other end, and then, Tom’s voice came very distant. “I’m going to Harry’s.”

Harry couldn’t hear the reply, but he recognized the low tone of Lestrange, one of Tom’s housemates. He shifted in his nest-bed, wrapping his duvet closer towards him.

“Be there in 15.”

“See you,” Harry murmured.

*****

**2018**

Harry was only here to say thank you.

“Who knows what would have happened if Tom hadn’t been there?” Lily had said once Harry was done with his heat. Harry had groaned and sighed, but after much prodding, finally relented. His mum was stubborn, and her insistence had been overpowering.

He looked up at the door, and then hesitantly, he rang the doorbell. He shoved his hands into his pockets and waited.

In less than a minute, the door opened, and Harry blinked. The man on the other side was dark-haired, his features sharp, cheekbones high. He smelled like an Alpha.

“What do you want?”

“Er,” Harry said. “Tom?”

“He’s busy.” His tone was short, and his eyes narrowed. “He’s asked not to be disturbed.”

“I just want—to say thank you,” Harry replied, stilted, and the man’s eyes narrowed.

“You’ll have to wait a few days. Bye.” Without another word, the door was slammed shut in Harry’s face and Harry gaped.

 

Tom  
  
went to urs but they said u were busy  
  
Rut.  
  
oh  
  
is that my fault  
  
sorry  
  
Yes.  
  
Call me before your next heat.  
  
..........i’ll think about it

**Author's Note:**

> i'm exarite on tumblr <3
> 
> if u don't wanna read a cliche a/o omegaverse fic, i have [ethics of want](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18554956), with dom omega tom and sub alpha harry.
> 
> if u wanna read more social media, [here's a fic rec](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19058038)


End file.
